Our Vision

-1st July 1964 on the eve of inauguration of the workshop

SKILL IS ABUNDANT BUT TOOLS ARE SCARCE

It was Archimedes who said - "Give me a place to stand and a rod long enough and I will move the Earth."   He conceived the tool but did not live long to be transplanted to another planet to get the place he sought to stand upon and even if he had, he perhaps could not have the tool -'a rod long enough'- to demonstrate the incredible act of moving the Earth. The substance of this is that an idea of howsoever sound cannot be transformed into actual work without the tool even though the requisite skill is present. It is not strange that civilization is reckoned by the stone, Bronze and Iron ages - the materials which the human beings used to make their tools and weapons from. The measure of civilization is thus the type and quality of tools which a society uses for creation of articles of necessity and the quantity in use directly reflects its prosperity.

In Ancient India

Whatever may have been the reason for the present backwardness of this ancient land of ours, it is established beyond doubt that we had developed such skills thousands of years ago which have not been able to be repeated even today by those countries who are highly advanced in the art of applied science (e.g. The iron pillar, Qutub Minar, Delhi - purest form of stainless wrought iron).<

A large part of our population is traditionally artisan in whose veins flow the blood infested by indestructible germs of skill combined with intelligence, sensitivity and creativity. They try to do their best with whatever materials and tools they can lay hands on or devise. This however, is not enough since technological developments have produced a wide variety of material which can be effectively and profitably put to use only when treated, handled and worked upon in a specified manner with the help of advanced type of special tools.

Special Tools

Costly, complicated and delicate modern equipments machines and engines - all need special tools to build, dismantle, renovate and service for long life and calculated performance. We constantly clamor for the quality of whatever is produced in our country and unhesitatingly start to find fault with workmanship and other things directly attributable to the men who put their physical energy in producing that article but seldom ponder over the more important causes such as manufacturers greed manifest in improper material, use of obsolete methods and indifference towards control of quality and employment of trained men equipped with adequate and proper tools.

Malady

While there is a remedy for most of the above shortcomings which are products of market boom, the most important malady- shortage of special tools, instruments, gadgets, gauges and testing apparatus- cannot be easily remedied unless those in Government who frame policies about imports have the good sense of not viewing these things as items of luxury. The present policy of restricting the inflow of these essential items which result into excessive profits for those who have somehow the previlage of getting licenses is destructive in a good measure and hits at the very root of the program of advancement and development which the nation has set for itself for peace, progress and sufficiency. It can perhaps be said that denial of the right to possess the tool one needs to properly perform his duty is equivalent to denial of opportunity. We have confidence in our workmen . Give them the tools and they will transform this country, abundant in skill, into Workshop of the World.

B. V. Malani